Cultivator blade



March 13, 1928.

E. FOWLER ET.AL

CULTIVATOR BLADE ,"FiledAug. 192-5 30 is bolted to a frame plate 12.

Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

EDWARD FOWLER AND JOHN V. LEWI S, OF CHATTANOOG A, TENNESSEE.

cuL'rrvA'ror. BLADE. I

1 Application filed August 27, 1925. Serial No. 52,794.

The present invention relates particularly to improvedmeans for attaching the cultivator blade to a cultivator as well as to improved structure and conformation of the blade itself. Our invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which v a Fig. 1 is a perspective of a cultivator of known type showing the disposition of the blades;

Fig. 2 is a view of a portion of Fig. 1 partly broken away;

1 Figs. 3 and 4 show modifications of the blade according to the present invention;

- Fig. 5 is a cross section of a cultivator blade according to the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a detail. The general structure shown in Fig. 1 is well known in; the art and need not be described with particularity here. Suflice it to say that the cultivator as shown comprises two horizontal beams "10 united at their forward ends, between which ends a clevis 11 is held Frame plates 12 are securedv in a depending position from the beams 1.0, the beams being spread rearwardy by means of the spacing bolt 13. The plow foot 14 has two upwardly extending arms, each of which A plow point 15 is secured at the bottom of the plow foot as shown. Pivotedto the frame plates 12 by handle 19. The lower ends of levers 17 are provided with shoes 20 and the tion of these shoes isadapted to be. adjusted by engaging various of the notches 21 of lever 19 with the spacing bolt 13. The as sembly just described forms a depth gauge for the cultivation. To the end of beams 10 are attached handles 22 connected near their upper ends by the handle round 23. Depending from handles 22 and pivoted by means of bolts 24 are adjustable blade braces 25. A hand lever 26 is pivoted directly to one of the braces while a pivoted link 27 is interposed between the lever 26 and the other brace 25. The position of this handle is controlled by means of the notched cross brace 28, and according to whether the lever 26 is moved from left to right or vice versa the plate braces are moved inwardly or out wardly. According to the present invention the inner edges of braces are provided means of bolt 16 are levers 17 which conver e upwardly and are pivoted at 18 to a vertical posi throughout a notches 29. p

The lower blades, as will be seen, are secured to the frame plates 12 by bolts or rivets 30 and in a like manner, a's'at 31, to thelower ends of the braces 25. According to the present invention the lower blade is composed of a backing strip 32 of suitable strength and an edge strip 33 of thin tempered steel. 'As will be seen from Fig. 5 the backing strip 32 is provided on its lower, outenedge with a longitudinal recess, and

portion of their length with the edge portion 33 is secured in this recess by means of bolts or rivets 3 1. In operation, therefore, much ofthe strain which would naturally be imposed upon the connecting means between the two up by the shoulder 35 of the backing strip.

At the rear the backing strip is preferably beveled down to the edge strip. Being constructed of thin and especially durable metal,

the edge strip will keep its sharpness indefi-' will, iii-fact, be practically self- I nitely and sharpening. As will be noted, the lower blade is curved or distorted; that is to say, while its front end is substantially vertical its rear end more nearly approaches the horizontal. This configuration is of cone siderable importance in the operation of the device, and we propose to provide extra edge strips configurate with the backing strip which may be easily and accurately applied thereto bythe user when the original edge piece is worn out. As the backing strips will wear practically indefinitely, a considerable expense is saved by the provision of these interchangeable made uniform at the factory and can thus be readily and accurately attached.

In many forms of cultivation it is desir- 9 able for the cultivator to straddle the rows,

and on this account the plow foot and point are easily removable, as mentioned above. When used in this position it is desirable to arrange upper blades in spaced relation to the lower blades in order that a certain quantity of the soft mulch may the vicinity of the plants. customary to provide such upper blades, and the present invention is merely concerned with the novel feature of adjustably connecting them to the cultivator frame and also with the novel configuration of the upper blades themselves.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, it will sift through into It has long been strips will be taken" edge strips, which are be seen that the blade 38 is provided at its inner end with an oblique slot 37. Bolts 16 (Fig. l) are'loosened suliiciently so that the inner end of the blade 36 may be hooked over the shank of this bolt between the frame plate 12 and its associated lever 17. The blade 36 is provided with a countersunk bore 38 suitably positioned so that the shank of bolt 39 (Fig. may berpassed.therethrough and through a recessed clamp washer 40, which engages in its recess the notched portion of the respective brace The clamp washer 40 is provided with a tooth 41 at the bottom of the recess 42, which is adapted to engage any of the notches 29 when the nut -13 of bolt :55) tightened. Under such conditions it will be seen that the upper blade 36 will be rigidly positioned relative to the frame and at its rear end may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly by means of the clamp device shown in Fig. 6. The obliqueness of slot 257 such that an oscillation of blade 36 about bolt 39 will be positively pre vented, by the contact of one side or the other of the slot with bolt 16. in case a depth gauge of the kind described is not provided, a stud of any suitable nature may be substituted for bolt 16.

In order to allow a greater amount of soil to sift between the upper and lower blades in the immediate vicinity of the plants, we propose to provide blades Zlti with a somewhat elongated cutaway portion 4% adjacent their inner ends (Fig. 3).

According to the modification of the upper bladeslunvn in Fig. 4, each edge of the blade near the inner end thereof is provided with an oblique slot 37 or 45. When attaching the blade, therefore, either one of these slots may engage bolt 16 whereby the elevation of the inner end will be dependent upon the slot selected. The further attachment of this modification is the same as described in connection with Fig. 3.

We claim:

1. In a cultivator including horizontally spaced frame elements for supporting 21 on one of said elements, the other of said elements having a notched portion, said blade having oblique slots in its opposite edges, said stud being selectively cngageablein said slots, and clamping means in connection with said blade and selectively engagealilc with the notches of said notched element.

1). In a cultivator having rearwardlydiverging lower blades, said blades being spaced at their forward ends, the combination of divergent blades spaced above said lower blades, the lower edges of said upper blades having cutaway portions adjacent their inner ends, as and for the purpose described,

-l. in a cultivator inchulinga forward frame plate, a handle attached thereto and a brace member depending from said handle, the combinatioi'i of means for attaching a cultivator blade, said means comprising a studon said frame plate, said brace member having a notched portion, said blade having an oblique slot in one of its edges, said stud, being engageable in said slot, and clamping means in connection with said blade and selectively engageal'ile with the notches in said brace member.

The foregoing specification signed at Chattanooga, Tennessee, this 22nd day oi" July, 1925.

EDWARD FOWLER. J OHN'V. LEWIS.

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